I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City-Chapter 122: Spring Is Gone

"Really... since Noah kept asking me to show you... I-I’ll only do it once..."

Ichinose opened her mouth, as if she was waiting to be fed.

She looked like a baby bird waiting for food.

"Try it! Try it!"

Noah gestured eagerly, urging Rohan to do it, and Rohan chuckled, opening the chopstick holder.

He pulled out a clean pair of chopsticks.

He picked a mushroom from the hotpot.

The mushroom was steaming, and Rohan used scissors to cut it into smaller pieces, blowing on it to cool it down.

"Ha!"

The sound of Rohan blowing to cool it down made Ichinose’s ears twitch like a beast’s.

"Here it goes."

Rohan spoke lightly as he approached.

Ichinose’s tongue stiffened with tension.

"Ugh!"

Rohan’s chopsticks placed the food on her soft tongue, pressing gently before pulling away.

A tickling sensation made Ichinose let out an embarrassed sound.

"Is it hot?"

"No, it’s not..."

She immediately switched to a serious expression and began chewing.

It was too easy a ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) question. Once Ichinose chewed, she knew the answer right away.

"Deer... butt mushroom..."

"Correct!"

"See? I told you, Noah knows."

Noah smiled proudly on her behalf, but the word "butt" coming from Ichinose's mouth added a new flavor to the moment.

"I want to try too!"

This time, Noah opened her mouth, eager to try feeding herself, but Ichinose, recalling the prank from the past, ended up feeding her raw garlic to finish the joke.

As they chatted and enjoyed a more leisurely lunch than usual, Rohan’s phone rang.

Beeeeeep—! Beeeep—!

[Clara]

Unusually, it was a call instead of a message.

Rohan stood up quickly, feeling a bit anxious.

"Wait a second. I’ll take this call."

"Alright."

"Be back soon!"

...

"Got it. Yeah. Let’s go out for dinner. I’m hanging up now."

Rohan finished the call in the grassy front yard and headed back inside the restaurant.

Fortunately, it wasn’t an urgent call.

It was just a check-in from Shion and Clara, making sure he had a good lunch.

Relieved that there was nothing serious going on, Rohan confirmed that they had eaten well and briefly continued the conversation.

He also mentioned finding a good place and suggested it for their next meal out before ending the call.

‘The lunch break was nice and relaxing.’

As Rohan made his way back to the room, thinking about how the academy head had mentioned the importance of everyday happiness, he stopped in his tracks upon seeing some unexpected figures at the counter.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"...Instructor Juyeon?"

"Did you enjoy your lunch?"

It seemed like Juyeon had already sensed Rohan’s presence, as she wasn’t startled.

There was another familiar figure standing beside her.

The long, raised rabbit ears made their presence known, and Rohan greeted them first.

"Hello, Instructor Carrot!"

"Hello!"

"Did you two come here for lunch?"

"Don’t worry about it. We were just leaving."

Given that it was a quiet and delicious place, it made sense that Juyeon would come here.

‘This place, Anshimjeong...’

It seemed like a great place for people from Samhwa Country in the Academy City to meet.

Considering how Abyss City was going through patches, it made Rohan think that maybe this place would even be used as a part-time job location.

"Rohan, you seem pretty popular, huh?"

"Huh?"

"Who’s with you, the two of them?"

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The rabbit beastman made a heart with her hands and winked at him.

Carrot’s sudden and playful comment caught Rohan off guard, and for a moment, his throat tightened, but seeing the playful glint in her eyes helped him relax.

They probably already knew that his companions were Noah and Ichinose.

There was no need for them to figure out who was with him—they were observant enough to naturally spot his group.

However! This mischievousness wouldn’t work on someone who wasn’t easily fooled.

Rohan smiled back at them.

"We’re just fellow comrades bonding after going through hardships together."

"Hehe~?"

For someone like Carrot, who asked questions out of curiosity, pretending not to understand was only adding fuel to the fire.

A neutral response was the best way to handle it.

"Really? You're surrounded by such beautiful girls? Rohan, could it be you're into men!?"

"I don't like men. I'm a regular heterosexual, so I prefer women."

By this point, Rohan had expected Juyeon to step in and stop Carrot, but surprisingly, she was watching him with a worried expression.

"Rohan."

"Yes!"

"If you don't want unnecessary trouble, the one receiving attention needs to be clear about their position."

"...?"

When even Juyeon spoke like this, Rohan couldn’t respond.

The problem was that, unlike Carrot, this didn’t feel like a joke.

This was definitely serious. Rohan could tell.

"There's a reason why 'female trouble' is considered a disaster. If the person receiving multiple advances doesn't handle it properly, it can easily escalate into a dangerous situation. Be careful how you carry yourself."

Though Juyeon lacked direct romantic experience, she had seen enough to make such a statement with certainty.

"...I'll keep your words in mind."

Rohan replied seriously, and Carrot, realizing the situation, stopped her teasing and stepped back.

Juyeon, thinking she might have been too worried, quickly gestured for him to go.

"I’m sure your group is waiting. Sorry for holding you up with such serious talk."

"No, thank you for the valuable advice."

Since Juyeon had spoken out of concern, Rohan didn’t mind at all. He was truly grateful.

"Alright, we’ll be off~ Rohan, bye-bye!"

"Eat well. Don’t be late for the afternoon class."

After confirming that Juyeon and Carrot had left the restaurant, Rohan returned to the room.

He informed Ichinose and Noah about meeting the instructors, and the two girls responded with curiosity.

Neither of them had run into anyone they knew at this restaurant so far.

After finishing their meal and leaving the private room,

Ichinose reflected on the message Rohan had relayed and shared her thoughts.

"I’m sure Instructor Juyeon must miss the taste of Samhwa country sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah! I also get really craving Tigrova food sometimes!"

Noah, still licking her lips as if hungry, caught Rohan's attention.

Even after eating, Noah’s stomach looked flat, and her abs were still defined.

It was as though there was a black hole inside her.

When they reached the counter at the end of the hallway, Rohan thanked the staff once more.

"That was delicious."

"It’s nothing. It’s not enough to call it a reward."

Ichinose handed a golden-tinted card, and the staff smiled warmly.

Instead of accepting it, the staff bowed politely and informed them.

"The bill has already been taken care of by Instructor Juyeon."

"!?"

The three of them exchanged glances.

To Rohan, it was a large sum of money, but for the other two, it wasn’t too much. This was the kind of elegance shown by a successful member of society.

He felt the need to express his gratitude in some way.

"Thank you for the gesture. How about buying drinks?"

"That might be difficult. Instructor Juyeon probably wouldn’t accept it if a student offered."

"Then should we just participate earnestly in the next class?"

"Let’s all head to the faculty office and sing a thank-you song!"

"Noah, if we sing, we’ll get kicked out. Participating earnestly in class is probably the best answer."

As they stepped outside to find a taxi,

Noah suddenly decided to buy a strawberry smoothie and skipped across the crosswalk to a café.

Left alone with Ichinose, Rohan, sensing it was the right moment, spoke the words that had been on his mind.

"Rohan."

"Yeah?"

"Th-this meal... it was Instructor Juyeon's treat, not mine, right?"

"Is that how it is?"

Rohan found it hard to answer definitively.

He had received the meal, so it wouldn't be strange to admit it, but he hesitated.

"Since Instructor Juyeon paid, it’s not wrong, right?"

"Well..."

Rohan mumbled as he kept his eyes on Noah, who was wagging her tail in the café.

"Focus on the conversation with me."

Ichinose tilted her head slightly and gently nudged Rohan’s shoulder.

"I just want to say... next time, let’s eat together again. I’ll actually pay for it then."

Rohan was impressed by Ichinose, who hesitated but gathered the courage to speak.

"Aw, Eungae-no-se..."

She was so cute, Rohan almost felt like stamping a "Well done" on her notebook.

"Shh! Shh! What if Noah hears you...!"

"Just say it once. Then I’ll stop."

"Ugh, Eungae... what are you saying!"

Seeing her flustered and blushing made Rohan smile even more.

This was exactly why he loved teasing Eungae-no-se.

***

A considerable amount of time had passed since the midterm exams.

As the chilly days of April passed, the warmth of the final exams and the approaching summer became more noticeable.

On such a day, Rohan prepared for his morning training, just like any other day.

Thanks to the elixirs he received from Ichinose and Noah, he felt the efficiency of his training had improved recently.

His third sword had also started to find its place.

‘It’s peaceful.’

Was this the calm before the storm?

Rohan had lost track of the main story, and now he had no idea where the world was headed.

‘At times like this, I need to push harder.’

Rohan knew that.

Now that talk of dimensional rifts had become a common topic among the people of the academy city, it was the most dangerous time to let his guard down.

So, he made sure to prepare perfectly again today.

His custom-made scabbard, which he had requested, was completed yesterday, and he now had a proper home for his weapon, Radiance.

Even his pistol, The Mark, now had a tight leather holster to hold it securely.

Rohan, feeling uneasy that the usual noisy notifications about quests had quieted down, made sure to bring his weapon with him, even when just stepping out of his house for a moment.

He was doing his best to never let go of his weapons.

He knew that one day, this caution would prove its worth.